Non-Subscriber Extract
UK/US home missile defences have atrophied, with new missile defences still years away
- Article Tools
| 08 February 2002 |
Widespread discussions over future national missile defences are overshadowing the important fact that once-strong missile defences in the USA and UK have been phased-out to the point of virtual non-existence.
In the latest update of the authoritative Jane's Land-Based Air Defence, new Editor Jim O'Halloran details the wide range of defensive systems that have now completely dropped from each nation's itinerary.
"For some years, the US was well defended with US Army-manned Nike surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), but these were withdrawn many years ago and air defence is now the responsibility of a small number of US Air Force fighters," notes O'Halloran in the Foreword of the new edition.
"Over the last few years US Army tactical air defence has undergone major changes, involving a number of weapon systems either being cancelled or pulled out of service. Today, the US Army has a huge gap in its air defence capability, there being no equipment bridging the gap between the Raytheon Stinger (manportable/self-propelled) very short-range missile and the longer-range Raytheon Patriot SAM system."
Europe is experiencing a similar downgrading: apart from Germany, "countries in Europe, for example the UK, have decided to concentrate only on very short-range air defence systems, with longer-range SAMs such as the Royal Air Force Bloodhound having been pulled out of service many years ago without replacement."
Casting a wider net, O'Halloran concludes: "I believe it is safe to say that no land-based air defence system currently deployed or in development worldwide can protect any country from the sort of attack which millions of people witnessed live on television [on 11th September 2001]."
The question therefore remains as to whether any nations in future will have the right kind of missile defences for the conflicts that will occur.
l Jane's Land-Based Air Defence is a regularly updated online and hard-copy resource providing details of the development, description, variants, specifications and status of the world's land-based air defence systems. It gives information on local modifications to systems, plus increasing coverage of essential associated radar and fire-control systems.
Authoritative inventories and imagery make Jane's Land-Based Air Defence an ideal tool for understanding market developments and threat analysis. The next Hardback Edition will be available from 18 February 2002.
Contents include: Manportable SAMs Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns Self-propelled SAMs Towed anti-aircraft guns and sights Static and towed SAMS Shelter- and container-based SAMs Anti-aircraft control systems Inventories Contractors Manufacturers' Index